Wednesday, March 31, 2010

When the thugs of General Fulgencio Batista were torturing and murdering the Cuban people in the 1950's, the United States government never went before any world human rights body to request that he be condemned. The U.S sent him arms so that he could continue his butcheries.

It is very disappointing to see Barack Obama following and promoting the policies of George W. Bush in regards to Cuba.

Who has appointed the U.S. government as nanny and mother-in-law to the world? The United States has no moral authority to chastise Cuba. It is in the U.S. Guantanamo Naval Base where unspeakable human rights violations have occurred.

Cuba has a right to defend its national sovereignty and independence. Hillary's and Obamas covert agents, now euphemistically called contractors, should be kept in Cuban jails.

Has Obama forgotten the vote of 187-3 last October at the United Nations General Assembly, which condemned Bush's and Obama's continuation of the Cuba embargo? There have been no extra-judicial executions since the triumph of the Cuban Revolution. It is the United States government who is spending millions of U.S. taxpayer dollars trying to subvert the chosen system of the Cuban people.

Brian Latell is a fanatical ex-employee of the C.I.A. He is stridently anti-Cuba and always engages in 'wishful thinking' which promote his ideological bent.

His record is not very good. His predictions have been always wrong and did not materialize.

So, It did not surprise me to see his new prediction published in a for-profit blog, The Havana Journal.

Mr. Latell always appears to operate on his strange idea of "If you wish it, it will come!"

From the first day of triumph of the Cuban Revolution, there have been hundreds of so-called experts who wrote about an imminent collapse of the Cuban government. They did not happen.

I remember when on July 31, 2006, I received an email from Rob Seguin, the publisher of Havana Journal, telling me of the imminent collapse of the Cuban government. American Intelligence Services were also predicting that the collapse would happen in a few months. Did it happen?

March 31 (Bloomberg) -- The U.S. House of Representatives may pass a bill next month that would cut restrictions on agricultural exports to Cuba and lift a ban on travel to the island, the measure’s sponsor said.

Congressman Collin Peterson, chairman of the House Agriculture Committee, said he needs backing from one more lawmaker to assure the panel will pass the legislation. He expects to secure that pledge after Congress’s Easter recess, and for the measure to get approval by the full House.

“Cuba used to be one of our big markets,” Peterson, a Minnesota Democrat, said in a telephone interview yesterday. The bill “would help us get those markets back.”

The U.S. International Trade Commission estimates the U.S. could supply as much as two-thirds of Cuba’s agricultural imports, up from the current 30 percent, if restrictions are eased, Peterson said in a committee hearing this month. The bill would end a requirement that payments from Cuba to U.S. farmers go through a bank located in a third country and be made all in cash, steps that make trade more difficult.

The U.S. exported $528.5 million in food and agricultural products to Cuba in 2009, according to the U.S.-Cuba Trade and Economic Council.

Peterson’s bill, known as the “Travel Restriction Reform and Export Enhancement Act,” [H.R. 4645] is the latest House legislation seeking to end a 47-year prohibition on Americans traveling to Cuba. The “Freedom to Travel to Cuba Act,” sponsored by William Delahunt, Democrat from Massachusetts, would ease travel restrictions without changing rules about agricultural exports.

Versions of both bills are under consideration in the Senate.

Travel Ban

“I don’t think we’ll be able to get the agriculture changes by themselves,” Peterson said. “There’s a lot of support for lifting the travel ban, and if you put that together with the agriculture, I think we have enough votes to get it through the House.”

The bill may face more opposition in the Senate, he said.

President Barack Obama said March 24 that he’s seeking a “new era” in relations with Cuba even as he denounced “deeply disturbing” human rights violations by its government. Obama hasn’t told congressional Democrats where he stands on ending the travel ban, according to Peterson.

Obama last year eased restrictions on Cuban-Americans traveling to Cuba and transferring money to relatives back home. The U.S. State Department has also held talks in Havana with Cuban officials about restoring mail service and cooperation on migration issues.

The island nation can handle an influx of American tourists if the bill is passed, Cuba’s Tourism Minister Manuel Marrero said in a March 25 interview in Cancun, Mexico. He said the local tourism industry is preparing, with at least 9 hotels scheduled to break ground by the end of this year.

Tourism to Cuba increased 3.5 percent last year to 2.4 million visitors, with 900,000 travelers from Canada leading the way, Jose Manuel Bisbe, commercial director for the Tourism Ministry, said in an interview last week in Havana.

Cuban Tourism Ministry officials were in Cancun last week to meet with U.S. tourism industry professionals.

--With assistance from Jens Erik Gould in Mexico City.

Editors: Brendan Walsh, Harry Maurer

To contact the reporter on this story: Jonathan Levin in Philadelphia at jlevin20@bloomberg.net

To contact the editor responsible for this story: Joshua Goodman at jgoodman19@bloomberg.net

Tuesday, March 30, 2010

The Industriales added one more run in the top of the six inning, with three consecutive hits by Rudy Reyes, Stayler Hernandez and Frank Morejon. That was all for Robelio Carrillo, who was substituted by Yuliet López . At this point the Industriales have seven runs and the Naranjas have four.

Raiko Olivares receives first base on balls and all the bases are loaded again. Carlos Tabares at bat, and the Oranges bring in another pitcher, Yasmani Junquera. Another run scores. Industriales now have eight runs scored.

Here is another update. The Industriales gave the first zero of the game to the Oranges in the bottom of the fourth inning.

Then, on the top of the fifth, the Industriales tied the game 4-4: Styler Hernandez, hit through the short stop; Morejón sacrificed and Styler went to second; Olivares, double to left field, and the game is tied.

At this point the Industriales have had three hits, so the no-hit no-run is broken.

Carlos Tabares, hit to left field. Leugim Barroso receives a bases on balls and the bases are all loaded.

Here comes Yohandry Urgellés: sacrifice fly to left field and another run scores. Malleta: double to right field and another run scores.

Right from the start of the sixth game of the finals of the XLIX National Baseball Series, the Naranjas showed that they were going to be on top, and that they would not be denied the title of National Baseball Champions.

The game opened with a bases on balls to Leonys Martin. Yuniet Flores hit to right field sent Leonys to third base. Next, a double play ensued, which allowed Leonys to score easily the Naranjas initial run. “We are in charge here, the Oranges seemed to be saying.”

On their first two innings, the Industriales were totally dominated by Naranjas starting pitcher Robelio Carrillo; no hits, no runs.

Everything fell apart for the Blues on the top of the second inning. Naranjas: hit by Yulexis La Rosa, bases on balls to Yandrys Canto, hit by Aledmis Díaz, and the bases were loaded. That was all for the Industriales starting pitcher, Arley Sanchez, who had nothing tonight. He was quickly replaced by Armando Rivero. Two more runs followed, compounded by an Industriales error, and it was 3-0 in favor of the Oranges. Curtains for the Blues?

This March in Eugene, Oregon, many more people found out about the Cuban Five (Eugene is a city of 137, 000, home of the University of Oregon and is located in the Pacific Northwest of the US just north of California.) Interest was generated by several events connected to the touring art show of work by Antonio Guerrero, and momentum was built for several next steps. The events were organized by the Eugene Free the Five Committee and sponsors included the Latin American Solidarity Committee, American Constitutional Society, PanAsian Community Alliance, UO Public Interest/Public Service Program, Wayne Morse Center for Law and Politics, and UO Law School Office of Career Services.

On March 5, an exhibit of Antonio Guerrero’s work opened during the First Friday Art Walk. The show, From my Altitude - Art works by Antonio Guerrero, was in the Fenario Gallery located in central downtown Eugene. The exhibit went beyond Antonio’s work with displays on the case of the Cuban Five, including five floor to ceiling banners featuring excerpts from their sentencing comments in December 2001, and two video stations with video on the Five and life in Cuba. A local artist and a video-media artist, both in the Eugene Free the Five Committee, helped in designing the show, which was an art installation in itself.

For four hours, from 5 to 9 pm, people poured through the gallery to looking at Antonio’s work and learning about the Cuban Five, often for the first time. The evening featured traditional Latin American music by the local group Lo Nuestro and Cuban-inspired food prepared by student club members of the local community college culinary program. Many people had enthusiastic comments about the evening, gratitude for finding out about the Cuban Five, and sympathy for the Free the Five cause.

The following Wednesday, March 10, Leonard Weinglass spoke at the University of Oregon Law School. The talk by the legendary advocate and now an attorney for Antonio Guerrero was titled: "The Case of the Cuban Five - After Five Decades Defending Political Trials." Leonard was introduced by Eugene Committee spokesperson Dennis Gilbert, who in addition, introduced a variety of ways people can get involved and find out more information. An audience of seventy-plus heard a profound personal and historical story of the evolution of the court system increasingly at service to the national security apparatus, and analysis and insights into the Cuban Five case. The presentation was followed by a long question-answer period. Following that, Weinglass retired to a discussion hosted by law student groups to talk about how students might engage in this sort of advocacy. Two law students were leaders in the Eugene Free the Five Committee.

The next morning before leaving Eugene, Leonard met for breakfast with a group of Latino activists interested in the Cuban Five. That meeting solidified one next step in the local campaign, working to raise the case to the Eugene Human Rights Council and the City Council.

Two days later on March 12 in the evening at the gallery, fifty people attended a lively and powerful bilingual poetry reading, in which poets in the local community read Antonio’s poetry in Spanish and English, followed by selections of each of these poets. Classical guitar music was another highlight of the evening as well as more opportunity to see Antonio’s art work. The poets read beneath the five banners, with photographs of the Gerardo, Rene, Antonio, Ramon, and Fernando, so that their eyes looked out over the gathering, and several people commented that they felt their presence that night. The Eugene Committee is planning to host further poetry readings in the same format, since this one was so moving and successful.

The following week, March 19, an evening of Cuban music by popular, local musician Jessie Marquez, was the final event at the gallery before the end of the show March 20. Eighty people arrived for the concert with more coming later. There was a good discussion of the Cuban Five, with most of the audience hearing about the case the first time that evening. The music was outstanding, and more people volunteered to be part of the effort to Free the Five.

These events have established the Eugene Free the Five Committee as a solid feature in the local political landscape, and built momentum for further engagement in the Free the Five campaign and discussion of Cuba generally. On April 17, there will be an all-day conference called "Cuba Awakening – Breaking Cold War Stereotypes." The Free the Five campaign will be one part of the program. The events organized in March have been a stage for advertising this conference. In addition, people attended from out of town interested in hosting Antonio’s art in Salem and Portland, Oregon, and Seattle, Washington, and gained further enthusiasm. Materials added to the show locally will be provided to the National Committee to Free the Five, so that it can be used elsewhere. We plan to put together a video of the events in Eugene.

Dennis Gilbert is a leader in the Eugene Free the Five Committee and a physics professor at Lane Community College in Eugene.

In response to the European Parliament Resolution of March 11 regarding Cuba, we intellectuals, academics, social activists, critical thinkers and artists of the Network in Defense of Humanity declare:

1. That we share the sensibility shown by the European parliamentarians about political prisoners. Like them, we call for the immediate and unconditional freedom of all political prisoners, in all the countries of the world, including those of the European Union.

2. We deeply regret, as they do, the death of the common prisoner, Orlando Zapata, but we are opposed to his death, the first “… in almost 40 years” according to the Parliament, being distorted for other political ends that are contrary to those in defense of human rights.

3. That urging “… the European institutions to give unconditional support and encouragement for the initiation of a peaceful political transition toward a plural democracy in Cuba” is not only an act of interference, but it also presumes a sole model of democracy which certainly shows itself to be more and more insufficient and questionable. We reject that proposal because of our commitment to the principles of non-intervention and self-determination of the peoples—principles defended by the UN as well.

4. The search for and deepening of democracy presumes, among other things, to transcend the formal and invent new forms that are authentically representative, and that are not necessarily restricted to multiple parties. As is well known, often the decisions over the great problems of the world are made unilaterally by small interest groups with great power, over and above the regime of parties.

5. That to try to justify the interference into the internal political affairs of the Cuban people by manipulating the case of Orlando Zapata through the media—a common delinquent who by no means was a political prisoner—coincides with the counter-insurgency policies that are being applied in Latin America to hold back or distort the emancipatory processes of transformation that are in motion. This is in addition to the criminal blockade that the Cuban people have been subjected to, for the simple fact of not accepting impositions and for defending the right to decide its destiny with dignity and independence.

6. That we share the concern shown by the parliamentarians about respect for human rights in Cuba, but we extend that concern to the whole world. In the same way that you are concerned about the case of the delinquent who died (in 40 years there has been no previous occurrence), we invite you to demand the end of the occupation of Gaza and the aggression against the Palestinian people, which has caused not one, but thousands of deaths; an end to the intervention in Iraq and Afghanistan that has sown death and terror in towns and cities; of the bombardments of those places with the argument that it is defending democracy; an end to the double occupancy of Haiti; the closing of the prison in Guantánamo and the return of that territory to Cuba, to whom it belongs; and the return of the Malvinas Islands to Argentina. And certainly, we call for an end to the blockade, which violates the human rights of the Cuban people and which puts in doubt the moral authority of those who demand humane treatment for a delinquent when it is denied for an entire people.

7. The economic and media assault that Cuba is being subjected to, even before the death of the prisoner Orlando Zapata, constitutes an act against the human and political rights of a people that decided to forge a different path.

We demand respect for the internal processes of the Cuban people in deciding and exercising its democracy, and adherence to the universal principles of no intervention, in accordance with the United Nations.

Two Cuban medical students will speak today about the reality of Cuba.

Published: 03/29/2010

By Kyle Edwards

It seems Democrats and Republicans can’t agree on anything these days. However, there is one thing Democratic and Republican administrations have agreed on since JFK: the idea that Cuba is an enemy.

Cuba is the only country affected by the Trading with the Enemy Act of 1917. Without going through almost impossible hurdles, a U.S. citizen isn’t allowed to travel to or spend money in Cuba — but we can travel to North Korea, a country George Bush characterized as part of the “Axis of Evil.” What is so frightening about this little island 90 miles off the Florida coast? Is it that everyone has access to health care, regardless of their ability to pay?

Cuba shines as an alternative to capitalism, where wealth concentrates in a few hands and the repercussions are still being felt in our economy, especially with imperialist ventures such as Iraq. Today, two Cuban medical students will be at the University of Minnesota to speak about the reality of Cuba. One served for a year in Haiti in a volunteer medical brigade and will be able to share his experience in one of Cuba’s thousands of international humanitarian missions. These two students, Aníbal Ramos Socarrás and Yenaivis Fuentes Ascencio, will be able to share the vibrant culture of Cuba.

They will contrast the Cuban medical system with the profit-driven model of the United States. Finally, people in America will be able to experience the reality, not rhetoric, of what can happen when workers, students, teachers, professors, farmers and peasants take political power into their own hands.

These events are especially prudent. They will be speaking at the Moos Tower, Room 2-520 from 12:15 p.m. to 1 p.m. In the evening they are hosting a forum in 350 Anderson Hall starting at 7 p.m. With all the inflammatory labels coming out of President Barack Obama’s “progressive” administration, such as the baffling decision to add Cuba to a list of terrorist-supporting countries after a botched Detroit airplane bombing, it is prudent for all students, staff and faculty to understand and experience the reality of Cuba.

Monday, March 29, 2010

Havana, Mar 29 (Prensa Latina) The United States devotes millions of dollars every year to sponsor and fund seditious activities by small groups that aspire to encourage a subversive movement in Cuba.

That can not be a secret, because it is about large amounts of budgeted money, approved in Congress sessions without any sense of shame, or extracted from the secret funds of the CIA and other government agencies, but constantly announced by the US media.

Those are large amounts of money for which those who decide to accept the role assigned by Washington fight, and receive them in Havana through different channels.

The money for those plots has caused more than one public dispute among groups composed of a small number of members.

Thus, the articles by news agencies that publish the review demanded by US congresspeople to analyze how the resources approved are spent.

For example, Senator John Kerry vetoed allocation of the last $40 millions devoted to "help the Cuban opposition" in the island, until a thorough analysis of their use is accomplished.

It is not surprising either that from Havana in an intended rush, a lady neatly dressed in white applauds Kerry's decision and cries out for no less than an audit of the use of those millions, because they are obviously giving her less than what she wants or was told initially.

That lady is the same person that led small parades in recent weeks along several streets in this capital, vociferating against the political system the Cuban people have adopted and developed by free will. Her action has encouraged the media campaign against Cuba.

She and a small accompanying group, including US diplomatic officials and from other European embassies received a strong response by thousands of citizens that exercised their right to disagree with those that they identified as people paid by a foreign power.

Now, the same lady is fighting for more money from the United States for her and her group who dress in white and is protesting with unusual energy against any attempt to reduce her monthly payment.

----------

JG: The battle cry from the Ladies in White and useful idiots like Zapata and Fariñas is "WE WANT MORE MONEY."

Whatever happened to Martha Beatriz Roque and the empire's favorite blogger, Joani Sanchez? They must be getting enough money. They are not on the street "protesting."

Ukraine March 28, 2010. (MINREX) - Ukraine Chief of State, Víctor Yanukóvich, decorated Cuba's Commander in Chief, Fidel Castro and Cuban President, Raul Castro, for the help given to Ukrainian children who were victims of the nuclear accident at Chernobyl, announced the Ukrainian presidency.

According to a press communique, Yanukóvich distinguished Fidel Castro with the Order of Merit, in the first degree, and Raul Castro received the Order of Yaroslav the Wise, also in the first degree, for helping re-establish the health of Ukrainian children.

° February 24, 1996. Cuban Air Force jets shoot down two US-registered aircraft after they repeatedly violate Cuban air space.

° March 12, 1996. The Helms-Burton Act is enacted by the U.S. Congress. It attempt to enforce the extra territoriality of U. S. law, and is rejected overwhelmingly by practically all civilized countries.

° 28 June, 2000. Elian Gonzalez returns to Cuba.

° 12 May, 2002. Former U.S. president Jimmy Carter becomes the first U.S. president to visit Cuba.

° 14 December, 2004. Cuba becomes a member of The Bolivarian Alliance for the Peoples of Our America (ALBA).

° 19 February, 2008. Fidel Castro announces he would not be a candidate for the position of President of the Council of States and Ministers. He retains his position as first Secretary of the Communist Party of Cuba.

° 24 February, 2008. Raul Castro is elected President of the Council of States and Ministers.

A conference was held in Cancun, Mexico, this past week devoted to the issue of developing tourism in Cuba. The New York Times mistakenly believes that the Cuban government is waiting for Big Macs and Whoppers to descend on the island. HOW LITTLE DO THEY KNOW THE CUBAN PEOPLE AND ITS SOCIALIST GOVERNMENT!

It is a fact of life that, like the NYT article correctly states, that “the Cuban government has already joined more than 200 joint ventures with foreign corporations, none of them American.”

The Americans only have to blame themselves for this state of affairs. President Barack Obama and his administration has mistakenly chosen to continue traveling the failed road of trying to impose the genocidal Cuba embargo which was pushed by George W. Bush and his predecessors.

Recently we have had to listen to silly statements from Barack Obama about clenched fists. How idiotic can he get?

The NYT article continues: “Cuban papers were reporting Fidel Castro’s written comments the same day calling Mr. Obama a “fanatic” when it comes to capitalism and dismissing his remarks on Cuba as “foolishness.”

Fidel is absolutely right. The problem is that Obama is young and inexperienced. He mistakenly believes that capitalism is going to return to Cuba. What brand of Maui Wawi has he been smoking lately?

Attending the meeting in Cancun was Cuba's tourism minister, Manuel Marrero Cruz, who stated that “the Cuban government was not concerned about large numbers of visiting Americans prompting any change to Cuba’s government or culture. We are not waiting for the Americans. We’re developing tourism for others around the world.”

Did you hear that Barack Obama? Stop your arrogance and you silly dreams! Cuba will never accept any of your impositions and dictates. If you do not adopt policies of “live and let live” toward Cuba, all that you are going to collect are disappointments and unfulfilled dreams.

Sunday, March 28, 2010

The Naranjas of Villa Clara won a very close game today by 6-3. They now lead the championship series by three games to two. The Industriales find themselves with their backs against the wall. They must win the next two games on Tuesday and Wednesday night at the Sandino stadium in Villa Clara, or it is curtains for them.

66 Hours is a DVD which chronicles the events that took place in Cuba on April 15-20, 1961, during the the Bay of Pigs invasion, which in Cuba is referred as 'La Invasion de Playa Girón.' This DVD is a treasure of information and is very well documented with extremely important facts. Cuba calls the the invasion “The First Defeat of Yankee Imperialism in Latin America.”

There are many first person accounts by individuals who participated in repelling this failed C.I.A. operation. The most important one is the recollections and explanations -- before a very large map of the Ciénaga de Zapata -- by José Ramón Fernández. Fidel Castro ordered him to command the battalions of militia and regular army troops engaged in fighting the invading forces of C.I.A. mercenaries. Late on 19 April 1961, he was among Cuban government forces that finally broke through to Playa Girón and forced the surrender and dispersal of the invading Miami mercenary exiles. From the first day, in a little island close to Naples, Florida, and later in Guatemala and Nicaragua, the mercenaries were pawns of the United States government, which was enraged and very upset about the socialist nature of the Cuban revolution, only 90 miles from its shores.

The title of the DVD tells the world that in less than 72 hours, the attempt to establish a counter-revolutionary bridgehead and government on Cuban soil, which would then ask the Organization of American States to militarily intervene to save “democracy” in Cuba, was resoundingly defeated by the courageous Cuban people, its revolutionary armed forces and the militias. Honor and praise to those martyrs who died defending Cuban soil.

The whole plan of “invading” Cuba was started by an executive order of Dwight D. Eisenhower. It was infamously continued and carried out by the administration of John F. Kennedy.

I recommend this DVD without any hesitation. It is an excellent historical record of a very courageous people who stood up to the dark designs of Yankee imperialism in Latin America. Truth always triumphs over deceptions and evil. Cuba will continue to defend its national sovereignty and independence with their battle cry of PATRIA O MUERTE, VENCEREMOS!

Saturday, March 27, 2010

The Blue Lions had an explosion of hits and runs as they tied the 49th final series to two games apiece.

Eight consecutive hits by the Industriales in the first inning, before a capacity crowd of 55,000+ persons. Five runs were scored on the the first and one more on the six. The Naranjas used four pitchers in the first inning which seemed, at times, that it would never end. Industriales had the bases loaded in the first two innings and collected eleven hits in them.

(CNN) -- It is being lauded by aficionados as the finest cigar ever to come out of a country already famed for producing the best cigars in the world.

Such is the anticipation surrounding the Cohiba Behike cigar when it goes on sale in mid-June that experts are warning demand will far outstrip supply, creating a lucrative black market for the stogies.

Rarely has such excitement surrounded the launch of a cigar, say connoisseurs in the UK and the U.S., but why? Is the Behike really that good or is this just hype?

The Behike was officially launched in Havana in February with the promise of "setting a new standard among smokers worldwide," according to Habanos SA, the worldwide distributor of Cuban cigars. It says supplies will be limited.

Ana Lopez, marketing director at Habanos SA in Havana, told CNN: "This is the most expensive line ever produced in Cohibas and we are expecting that it will be very well received."

Mitchell Orchant, a London-based cigar merchant and connoisseur, is one of the few people to have tried the Behike at its launch in Havana. He said he already has 1,000 people on his waiting list.

"This is perfection in a Cuban cigar... the Cubans have got every aspect of this cigar right - the brand, the size, the taste. And of course it's unique because a rare leaf is being used in its blend, the first time such a leaf has been used in a cigar.

"This will be a very collectible cigar, I already know people who are planning to lay [store] the Behike for 10 years. It will sell out very quickly and that will push prices up."

Simon Chase, a semi-retired director of the British cigar importers Hunters & Frankau, founded in 1790, said: "There is a particular type of rare leaf in the Behike... there is something in the blend that makes it very interesting, very special. I've been in the cigar business fo 30 years... and I would say that this will make a very serious bid to become the best cigar in the world."

Chase, also an author and auctioneer who puts Cuban cigars under the hammer every year in Cuba for charity, often with the former president Fidel Castro present, also smoked the Behike at its launch in Havana.

"It had a rich savoury taste. It's not easy to produce a distinctive cigar in what is already the most prestigious brand [Cohiba] in the world," said Chase.

The rare leaf is a part of the tobacco plant called the medio tiempo, taken from the upper leaves of the plant, but which not every plant produces, making it rare.

There will be three Behike sizes which in the UK will sell at £25 ($36), £33 ($48) and £39 ($57) each respectively, according to Hunters & Frankau.

The U.S. economic trade embargo against Cuba means that Cohiba Behikes will not officially be exported to or officially be on sale in the U.S..

Cohiba is the flagship brand of Cuban cigars and was created in 1966 for Fidel Castro; they are made at the El Laguito factory near Havana, in an opulent mansion once owned by a sugar baron.

For years only heads of state and visiting diplomats were given Cohibas but in 1982 it went on sale in limited quantities.

Cohiba is an ancient Taino Indian word for the bunches of tobacco leaves that explorer Christopher Columbus first saw being smoked by the original inhabitants of Cuba, the earliest known form of the cigar.

The Blue Lions are alive! They had a very productive game and they won the third game of the 49th finals by 12-6. They collected fourteen hits while the Naranjas had nine unstoppable s, one of them a homer with one on base by Olympian Ariel Pestano.

Styler Hernandez had an excellent game, connecting two homers and collecting four RBI's for the Blues. Alexander Malleta also collected four RBI's

Havana, Mar 26 (Prensa Latina) Operation Peter Pan was a psychological warfare action to manipulate children with political intentions, a further evidence in more than 50 years of US aggressions on Cuba.

This was one of the saddest immigration incidents occurred in the 60s, which took place in the western hemisphere, a media strategy of which was thought by Washington to lure Cubans.

Those who conceived the plan took into account the atmosphere of uncertainty existing among Cuban middle class and small bourgeoisie during the early years of the Revolution.

The US Federal Government, the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), elements of the Catholic Church hierarchy in that country, and counterrevolutionary groups were responsible for the project.

Media terrorism has among its direct backgrounds scandalous chapters as the sinister Operation Peter Pan, a plan in which families sent their children abroad because the government would allegedly take them away parental authority.

Between 1960 and 1962, over 14,000 children were sent by their parents to charitable US organizations created for this purpose. They were sheltered in unknown homes and orphanages for an indefinite time.

With the help of Miami Diocese priest Bryan O. Walsh, linked to the CIA, everything started when Cuban executives from the American Chamber of Commerce in Havana commented to him their wish to send their children to the United States.

The plan followed a media campaign through Miami radio stations, which analyzed the issue carefully, and informed about an alleged Parental Authority act to be applied to children under 18 years old.

The method aimed that children would meet again with their parents once the Revolution has been overthrown, but on October 23, 1962, when the October missile crisis broke, Washington suspended flights to Cuba and the announced reunion was left very much up in the air.

------

JG: I was one of the victims of Operation Peter Pan. The curas of La Salle were fanatics in their opposition to the Cuban Revolution. Like the current pedophilia scandal, Peter Pan is another dark chapter in church history.

Who is Barack Obama trying to fool when he makes pompous speeches defending freedom and democracy for the people of Cuba?

Corporate capital, the banks and Wall Street rule the United States. Corporate scams have led to millions of Americans who are loosing their homes. The greed-hogs get bailed out while the people get shafted.

That is not the type of system that the Cuban people want to have.

What can the United States offer the world other than wars of conquest in Iraq and Afghanistan and ever increasing fiscal debt which inevitably will lead to national bankruptcy.

Te Cuban people have made it very clear what system they want to have and it is certainly not capitalism.

The “march” is neither 'in' Cuba or 'on' Cuba. It is 'through' Calle Ocho, which is a street in Miami, Florida, where con artists and fraudsters congregate to ask for “contributions” for the “liberation” of Cuba. Hey, Obama! Why don't you go down to Calle Ocho and lead the troops that will “liberate” Cuba?

Based on the superb pitching of Robelio Carrillo, who pitched nine complete innings and only allowed two hits by the Industriales Blue Lions, the Naranjas of Villa Clara won their second game in the finals of Cuba's baseball championship series by the score of 3-0.

The series now switches to the Estadio Latinoamericano in Havana, where the next three games will be played.

Wednesday, March 24, 2010

Although I have supported him on the much needed Health Care reform, I have to oppose him 100% on what amounts to a continuation of the discredited and failed Cuba policies of his ten predecessors.

It is the United States government that maintains a genocidal embargo against Cuba. The U.S. is the aggressor country. It is the United States government which continues to fund and direct covert and overt activities against Cuba. That is why your "contractor" is behind bars in Havana.

Stop interfering in the internal affairs of Cuba. Stop funding and directing the so-called "dissidents" who are nothing more than mercenaries, like the Miami gusanos that the U.S. landed at the Bay of Pigs.

Learn from President Franklin Delano Roosevelt and re-institute the Good Neighbor Policy.

Cuba does not want to be a protectorate or a colony, like Puerto Rico.

Cuba is a sovereign nation, and as such, will continue to defend its independence.

How come that you do not badmouth the 183 countries at the U.N. General Assembly who have condemned your Cuba embargo? It is a total repudiation of your policies. You can't veto their vote.

Your statement today goes beyond been silly. Your words are deeply disturbing to the Cuban people and you will find that they will repudiate you.

Latin America had great hopes when you were elected. You have chosen to become a continuation of a fraud. Arrogance and 'might makes right' is not a policy.

----------

JG: Below is the statement of Barack Obama today.

WASHINGTON — (AP) President Barack Obama is calling on the Cuban government to respect the rights of its people.

In a statement Wednesday, Obama cited the recent jailhouse death of a dissident on a hunger strike, uniformed Cuban security agents blocking an opposition march by women demanding the released of jailed loved ones and harassment of those who speak out for their fellow Cubans.

The president called the events "deeply disturbing" and said they show that, instead of entering a new era, Cuban authorities continue to respond to the aspirations of its people with a clenched fist.

On August 25, 2007, Cuba Journal published a post with a link to a CBS video which showed members of Vigilia Mambisa in Miami, a violent group of anti-Cuba fanatics. It proved to be a very popular post, and hundreds if not thousands viewed it, according to page-load statistics compiled by StatCounter.com.

Today, FoxNews.com published an on-line report about an FBI investigation of possible physical threats directed at Democrats who voted in favor of Health Care reform last Sunday.

Here is an example of the language left on a Democratic Congressman voice mail machine:

HAVANA, March 24 (Reuters) - When a recent flight from Miami touched down at Havana's Jose Marti Airport, a passenger shouted "Viva Cuba!" in a show of the enthusiasm Cuban Americans have for returning to their homeland.

Since President Barack Obama lifted restrictions last year on their visits to Cuba aiming to increase people-to-people contact, they are coming in such numbers that Cuba has had to remodel the airport terminal for U.S. flights.

The immediate beneficiaries are the eight U.S.-based charter services who operate the only flights allowed from the United States and who say business is booming.

The only foreseeable fly in the ointment, they say, is the U.S. government's inclusion of Cuba in countries where U.S.-bound passengers must undergo extra screening, which Cuba has protested.

The charter companies say direct flights by Cuban Americans to their homeland skyrocketed 70 percent in 2009 and are expected to jump another 36 percent this year.

Cuban officials recently said about 250,000 Cuban exiles visited the island from the United States in 2009 up from an estimated 170,000 the year before, when many found a way around the old restrictions by traveling through third countries.

Obama, who has said he wants better relations with Cuba, lifted restrictions imposed under President George W. Bush that limited Cuban Americans to one visit home every three years.

The result, said Armando Garcia, president of Miami-based Marazul Charters, "has been a tremendous growth and 2010 looks incredible."

"I would say we will reach 300,000 passengers just from the U.S. (this year)," he told Reuters.

MORE DEMAND, MORE FLIGHTS

Garcia and other operators said they were scheduling more flights to meet demand. In March, a total of about 250 flights were scheduled from Miami, New York and Los Angeles, up from 170 a month last year, the operators said.

The United States has imposed a trade embargo against Cuba since 1962, which still prevents most Americans from visiting the island 90 miles (145 km) from Florida.

But there are an estimated 1.5 million Cuban exiles in the United States, a big enough market that charter operators are interested in flying from more cities, including Fort Lauderdale, Tampa, Key West and Jacksonville in Florida and Las Vegas.

The Obama administration sent a chill through the Cuba charter industry in January when it included Cuba among 14 countries where extra security, including a pat down, is required for U.S.-bound passengers due to terrorism concerns.

Despite its protests, Cuba has been on the U.S. State Department's list of terrorism-sponsoring countries since 1982.

The Cuban government reacted angrily, calling in the chief U.S. diplomat in Havana to deliver a note of protest and saying it would "categorically reject this new hostile action."

Charter operators say so far the measures have not been enacted and they are hoping Cuba's airport security is sufficient to keep the U.S. government from shutting down the flights.

"Even before the rule came out Cuba had a very high level of security for people leaving the country," said Tom L. Cooper, owner of Gulfstream International Airlines.

"It appears to me to be fully compliant and we are not foreseeing any problem whatsoever either going to Cuba or coming from Cuba."

One U.S. transportation official in Washington told Reuters all indications suggest Cuba does comply with security standards set by the International Civil Aviation Organization, but declined to comment on the new security measures.

John Kavulich, senior adviser at the U.S.-Cuba Trade and Economic Council in New York, thinks it unlikely Washington will make an exception for Cuba unless it faces mounting pressure from Cuban exiles annoyed with the requested pat downs.

With Cuban Americans emerging as Cuba's second-largest source of visitors after Canadians, Kavulich said he expects Cuba will somehow accommodate the new regulations to keep the flights, and the money they bring in, coming.

Cuban Americans are an important source of dollars for the communist regime as it deals with the global economic downturn.

"They will comply in a meaningful way because the revenue stream is pretty significant and important," he said.

That publicity seeking gusanita in Miami, Gloria Estefan, has declared that "she is going to lead a march in Cuba."

Really!

Come on Gloria! We all know that the only thing that you really care about is leading "la buena vida" in Miami. You would not know what is defending legitimate rigths for the people, because all you care about is fame and the almighty dollar.

Three consecutive hits in the bottom of the seventh inning by Ariel Borrero, Ariel Pestano and Andy Zamora broke a 2-2 tie that had existed since the third inning, and propelled the Naranjas of Villa Clara over the Industriales Blue Lions in the first game of the finals of the XLIX Cuban National Baseball Series.

The winning pitcher was Yasmani Hernández Romero and the loser was Armando Rivero.

HAVANA — Despite health concerns that led him to surrender the presidency, Cuba's iconic leader Fidel Castro is "doing well for his age," according to his brother Raul Castro, the current president.

"He does exercises every day. He is more disciplined than ever because now he eats his meals at more reasonable hours," Raul Castro said during a trip to the eastern town of Mayari, according to footage broadcast on Cuban national television.

"He goes to bed very early and doesn't work until seven or eight in the morning like he used to," he said.

"He couldn't write for a while, but now he can lift his hand very high and write very well," the Cuban leader said.

"He reads and writes a lot and I could say that for his age, he's doing very well," he added.

The violence prone anti-Cuba fascists of Miami may have threatened the Puerto Rican musical group Calle 13, but they will go ahead and travel to Cuba for their concert, reports The New York Daily News.

The 10-time Latin Grammy winners are set to perform at the open-air Anti-imperialist Plaza, which sits in front of the U.S. Interests Section along the Malecón.

Friday, March 19, 2010

Joseph Stiglitz has written a great book, Freefall: America,free markets and the sinking of the world economy.It is about the financial meltdown which took place after a huge capitalist scam called 'the housing bubble' came tumbling down during 2007-2008.

In a few words here is what happened:

1) The housing bubble is created by capitalist banks and mortgage companies. They invent something called 'sub-prime mortgages.' They collect high transaction fees in the process.

2) Wall Street financial institutions 'securitize' those mortgages and begin selling the shares of the new securities all over the world.

3) Extremely complex financial instruments (i.e. credit default swaps and other 'derivatives') are created by Wall Street. It is all part of the same capitalist scam.

3) Real estate prices continue to go higher and higher, which is a perfect example of the bigger sucker theory. The interest rate on those sub-prime mortgages go up substantially later on and people realize that they can no longer afford to continue making the mortgage payments on their houses. Millions of Americans default and lose their homes.

5) The biggest recession since the Great Depression hits the United States. 8.4 million Americans lose their jobs. The unemployment rate would reach 10% in 2009.

6) The second part of the scam: Treasury Secretary Hank Paulson and Federal Reserve Chief Ben Bernanke go to the U.S. Congress and tell them that the banks and Wall Street need to be 'bailed out.' The U.S. Congress says 'much obliged' and hands them $700 Billion dollars.

7) Main Street America has been shafted by the Wall Street crooks and criminals. End of story.

It is very sad to see what is happening to the Cuban people. They have been condemned to live only 90 miles from the greatest military and economic power that has ever existed in our planet.

This cup of bitter wine will also pass from the Cuban people. Goodness always triumphs against evil.

Thousands of years ago, Sparta was a great military power. Where is Sparta today? Where are the military empires of Great Britain, Spain, France and Portugal? Their empires are no more!

Neither the United States nor the European Union has the moral authority or the credentials to condemn Cuba for human rights violations.

What country in the world has a perfect government which does not commit indignities and atrocities against its own people? Name me one!

What happened at Wounded Knee on December 29, 1890, at My Lai on March 16, 1968, and at Kent State University on May 4, 1970?

Where was the United States government when Fulgencio Batista Zaldivar was murdering and torturing, on a daily basis, those citizens of Cuba who dared to criticize him? Where was the United States government when Anastasio Somoza Debayle was butchering his own citizens in Nicaragua? Where was the United States government when Rafael Leonidas Trujillo Molina was conducting genocide against his own people in the Dominican Republic. The United States government was always there defending and supporting those three bloody despots. The United States government militarily occupied those three countries during the first fifty years of the twentieth century, and it was not done to defend the human rights of the citizens of those three nations.

The only territory in Cuba where people are tortured and consistent violations of human rights occur on a daily basis is at the United States Naval Base in Guantanamo, which is occupied against the wishes of the Cuban people.

Last but not least, let us remember that slavery was enshrined in the United States constitution. Wasn't slavery the most flagrant violation of human rights? What country gave to the world the Ku Klux Klan, which even today continues to preach violence against blacks, jews, catholics and immigrants.

Cuba has a right to defend its national sovereignty and independence against the dark designs of the empire to its north.

Does my criticism of the United States imply that there are no good things in the land of Yankee Doodle Dandy? Of course not. There are many great things in this country, and the biggest of them all is their people. They are kind and friendly. It is too bad and very sad that they have a government that is totally blind to the true meaning of human rights.

Wednesday, March 17, 2010

I write from Havana, Cuba, where the Internet is connected through satellite because the USA blocks all cable that surrounds Cuba.

Monday, we met with trade union leaders, state diplomats, a medical doctor from Cinesex, the state sexual health department, and Havana university professors. The people are intelligent and gracious, advanced in their knowledge of world events and unbelievably patient in the tasks of hosting a group from that same USA who has caused them so much suffering.

Cuba and its people are beautiful and brave. They have lived through hundreds of terrorist attacks by the USA including but not limited to: economic terrorism through an embargo that attempts to starve the people; a blockade that prevents their medical health and technological stability; military invasion and coup attempts engineered and paid for by the CIA; countless CIA assassination attempts of their leader; blocking of communication access; media smearing and false propaganda campaigns; wrongful imprisonment of their people in the USA while those who commit terrorism against them are free; and preventing and limiting cross country family visitations and communication.

They are a traumatized but brave people who endure in the face of hardships imposed not by their government but by the terrorist tactics used by the USA to politically enforce a program of capitalist “democratization” that will benefit the corporate and military elites presently controlling much of the world’s resources today.

Why does America and the West hate Cuba? They hate it for its way of life. What is that way of life? A unique Cuban form of social justice governance comprised of people’s committees at every level (grassroots, provincial, and national). A people who established a new way of life through the blood and tears of revolution deciding together to commit to the elimination of imperialism, slavery, racism, and sexism in order to share the country for and with each other holding a specific set of anti-oppression constructs that are foundational. Property, schools, and hospitals are not privately owned here and the Western elites hate that way of life.

Why do the global capitalists hate societies that attempt new forms of social justice governance models? Because when the people around the world self-determine their own resources the capitalists are not “free” to own it, control it, degrade it and deplete it. That is the operation of freedom the capitalist wants the people around the world to endure. In fact, “own it, control it, degrade it and deplete it” is the real program of so-called democracy in the USA and Europe. That is the USA’s way of life that is to be imposed globally, be it through a program of bribery and corruption, or programs of debt slavery with so called development programs and “aid,” or secret agency coordinated regime change, or outright military invasion and occupation.

The Cuban people understand and articulate very well the politics of colonialism, neo-colonialism, imperialism, and globalization. Unlike the public in the USA, they are not dumbed down. There are no McDonald’s and other fast foods here to make them obese and infect them with Frankenfood diseases. There are no mega shopping malls or Walmarts to keep them distracted with materialistic consumption. The people here are not obsessively attached to cell phones or screens.

The Cuban people are in the schools, the universities, the government, the fields, the parks, the cafeterias, the hotels, and the streets talking, smiling, playing, working, and loving each other. The Cuban people are defending their way of life in their thoughtful relationships with each other. The Cuban people are attentive to what is needed to survive each special period imposed from the USA and each act of sabotage engineered by the USA. The Cuban people are surviving and enjoying the ocean in walks by the sea; drinking wonderful Cuban coffee while passionately debating politics; and suffering the ignorance of fools by hosting delegations from the USA.

------

JG: Excellent! At least one person in the U.S., Ms June Terpstra, is not fooled by all the idiotic and crazy anti-Cuba propaganda pushed by the likes of Hillary Clinton, George W. Bush and Barack Obama. Those three hate any political and economic system that is based on "People Helping People."

° 1 January, 1899. The first U.S. military governor of Cuba, General John R. Brooke assumes his office. Yankee imperialism has total control of the island.

° 16 January, 1901.Fulgencio Batista Zaldívar is born in Banes, Cuba.

° 1906-1908. First U.S. military occupation of the island after the so-called “independence” of 1902.

° 1912. Second U.S. military occupation.

° 1917-1933 Third U.S. military occupation and economic protectorate. (See: From Wounded Knee to Iraq: A Century of U.S. Military Occupations, by Dr. Zoltan Grossman.)

° The military occupation of Cuba on the above dates is further proof that Cuba was not really a free, sovereign and independent country, but merely became a neo-colony of the United States, like Puerto Rico and the Philippines. U.S. economic interests ruled the island by means of native puppets.

° 20 May, 1925.Gerardo Machado is elected 5th president of Cuba. He became a despot and forced his way into a second term. He was finally toppled in 1933 by veterans of the 1995 Cuban War of Independence, army officers and civic leaders in a general strike. Machado was in very good terms with American business interests in Cuba. Despite the repression and violence of Machado's regime, the Americans supported him strongly. U.S. president Calvin Coolidge went as far as saying that under Machado the Cuban people were “free, independent, in peace and enjoying the advantages of democracy,” which was a huge divorce from the reality of the Machado years."

° 13 August, 1926.Fidel Castro Ruz is born in Birán,, Cuba.

° 14 June, 1928. Ernesto Guevara de la Serna is born in Rosario de Santa Fe, Argentina; he will later be known throughout the world as 'Che'.

° 12 August, 1933.Cuban dictator Gerardo Machado is toppled by a general strike; a provisional government assumes power.

° 4 September, 1933. The provisional government of Cuba is overthrown by th 'Sergeants Revolt', one of whose leaders is Fulgencio Batista. Ramon Grau San Martin assumes the presidency. Batista becomes the Army Chief of Staff, with the rank of colonel, and effectively controlled the presidency.

Fulgencio Batista becomes the strongman of Cuba behind a succession of "puppet presidents." Grau was replaced by Carlos Mendieta, and within five days the U.S. recognized Cuba's new government, which lasted 11 months. Succeeding governments were led by José Barnet (5 months) and Miguel Mariano Gómez (7 months) before Federico Laredo Brú ruled from December 1936 to October 1940.

° 1934.U.S. President Franklin Delano Roosevelt establishes his “Good Neighbor Policy.” The Platt Amendment is repealed, but American interests continue to rule the island.

° 1940-1944.First presidency of the strongman. Fulgencio Batista defeats Ramón Grau San Martín in the 1940 elections, and serves a four year term as President of Cuba. Batista was supported by a coalition of political parties. Although Batista was a capitalist and an admirer of the United States, he was endorsed by the old Communist Party of Cuba. The Communist party has ministers in Batista's cabinet.

° 9 April, 1948. Fidel Castro participates in the “Bogotazo” in Colombia, an armed uprising after the death of Jorge Eliécer Gaitán.

° 1950-1952. Fidel Castro becomes a public figure at the University of Havana. He graduates with a degree in Law. He joins the Partido Ortodoxo (Orthodox Party), a liberal democratic group, which was widely expected to win in 1952 on an anti-corruption platform.

° 1952. Fulgencio Batista runs again for president. In a three-way race, Roberto Agramonte of the Ortodoxos party led in all the polls, followed by Dr. Carlos Hevia of the Auténtico party, while Batista was running a distant third.

° 10 March, 1952. Three months before the elections, Fulgencio Batista, with army backing, staged a military coup d'etat and seizes power. He ousts outgoing President Carlos Prío Socarrás, cancels the elections and assumes control of the government as "provisional president". Shortly after the coup, the United States government recognizes his regime and supports him very strongly from that point forward. Batista's opponents are executed on the streets of La Habana and other major cities during his dictatorial regime. The United States never complains about Human Rights violations, especially the frequent tortures committed by Batista's National Police against his opponents.

° After Batista's March 10 coup d'etat, Fidel Castro presents a document before the Cuban Supreme Court which asks the court to declare unconstitutional and illegal Batista's March 10 coup. He is ignored by the court.

° Batista encourages large scale gambling in Havana, announcing that the government would provide a casino license and match the amount invested by anyone making a hotel investment over $1 million. Meyer Lansky, a leading American mobster, took advantage of the offer and became a prominent figure in Cuba's gambling operations.

° Batista established lasting relationships with U.S. organized crime, and under his rule La Habana became known as "the Latin Las Vegas." Lansky associate Chauncey Holt described Batista as "always in Lansky's pocket." The Mob also controlled and profited from all the La Habana brothels and the cocaine and marijuana trade. Batista gets a cut from The Mob.

° 26 July, 1953. Fidel Castro and a large band of his followers attack the army garrison at the Moncada Barracks in Santiago de Cuba. A smaller group attacks the Carlos Manuel de Céspedes Army Barracks in Bayamo. The attacks end in failure and Fidel and some of his followers head for the mountains, where they are captured later on by Batista's army. The date would be used to name Fidel Castro's 26th of July Movement.

° 1 August, 1953. Fidel Castro is taken prisoner.

° 16 October, 1953. Fidel Castro acts as his own defense attorney during his trial for the Moncada Barracks assault. He finishes his own defense speech by saying “Condemn me, history will absolve me!” He is condemned to 15 years in jail and his brother Raul Castro gets 13 years.

° 15 May 1955. Fidel Castro, his brother Raul and other political prisoners of Batista's dictatorship leave the Isle of Pines prison after a political amnesty. Later on they head for Mexico, where Fidel Castro meets Argentinian Ernesto 'Che' Guevara, who joins Fidel's 26th of July Movement group of revolutionaries. They are trained in guerrilla warfare by General Alfredo Bayo, a retired Cuban general of the Republican Loyalists (anti-Franco) forces in the Spanish Civil War of the 1930's.

° 25 November 1956. Shortly after midnight, in the Mexican port of Tuxpan, Veracruz, the Granma is surreptitiously boarded by 82 members of the 26th of July Movement, including its leader, Fidel Castro, and they set out for Cuba at 1 a.m.

° 30 November 1956. In Santiago de Cuba, Frank Pais leads the 26th of July Movement militia in an uprising against the Batista government. The action is a failure, but it marks the beginning of a popular insurrection against the Batista tyranny.

° 2 December, 1956. Fidel and his group land in Cuba at Playa Las Coloradas, which is today part of Granma province. The location was chosen to emulate the voyage of national hero José Martí, who had landed in the same region 61 years earlier during the wars of independence from Spanish colonial rule. Batista's Air Force bombs the revolutionaries. A small group of survivors commanded by Fidel Castro head for the Sierra Maestra mountains. The last chapter of of the Cuban Revolution begins.

° 1957. The United States supplies Batista with planes, ships, tanks, and the latest technology such as napalm which were used in his battle against Fidel Castro's insurgency.

° 16 January, 1957. Fidel and his guerrillas stage their first military action. They attack and capture La Plata.

° 17 February, 1957. Herbert Mathews, of The New York Times, interviews Fidel Castro in the Sierra Maestra.

° 13 March, 1957. A large group of students, led by the University of La Habana's Federation of Students President, Jose Antonio Echevarria, attack the presidential palace of General Fulgencio Batista. The dictator uses a small elevator to escape to a higher floor of the palace. Echevarria is killed while trying to take over a radio station. The attack is a failure, but university students become strong allies of the 26th of July Movement.

° 28 May, 1957. Battle of El Uvero.

° 17 July, 1957. The second column of the Rebel Army is created. It is commanded by Ernesto 'Che' Guevara.

° 23 December, 1958. Cuban dictator General Fulgencio Batista sends an armored train toward central Cuba. The train is a combination of two locomotives and seventeen freight and passenger cars, containing 373 soldiers and $4 Million worth of ammunitions and provisions for two months. The train is paid by generous military aid to the Cuban dictator by the United States government. Forces under the leadership of Comandante Ernesto 'Che' Guevara advance on Santa Clara, Cuba's third largest city.

° 30 December, 1958. Ernesto 'Che' Guevara's men remove 30 feet of rails. The armored train is derailed by rebel forces under his command. At 7:00 p.m. the train and its soldiers surrender to the rebels.

° 31 December, 1958. Santa Clara falls to the rebel forces of Ernesto 'Che' Guevara. The island has been effectively cut in two.

° 1 January, 1959. At 3:00 a.m. General Fulgencio Batista boards a plane and flees the island. He seeks refuge with fellow Dictator Rafael Trujillo in the Dominican Republic. He empties Cuba's Treasury Department and takes with him his personal fortune of more than US$300 million amassed through graft and payoffs. Batista's supporters take as much as US$700 million in fine art and cash with them as they fled into exile in Miami. The cash was deposited in Florida banks and was never returned to Cuba by the United States government.

° 1 January, 1959. Cuba's third war for national independence and Fidel Castro's revolution are finally triumphant. The despised U.S. supported despot is finally gone. Cuba is at last free and master of its own destiny.

° 2 January, 1959. Rebel Commanders Camilo Cienfuegos and Ernesto 'Che' enter La Habana with their troops. The city receives them with a wild and huge celebration party. A provisional revolutionary government is established.

° 8 January, 1959. Fidel Castro enters La Habana and heads for Columbia Military Camp. He speaks before thousands of Cubans. White doves are released and they align themselves on Fidel's shoulders. He asks what becomes a historically famous phrase: “Am I doing well Camilo?” Columbia would be later converted into a School City.

° January, 1959. Many of Batista's bloody henchmen are captured and are executed by firing squads. Now that Batista no longer rules Cuba, the U.S. government starts complaining about Human Rights violations.

Visitor Countries

Stat Counter

Creative Commons License

You are free to copy, distribute and transmit the work of Cuba Journal.

You may not use the work of Cuba Journal for commercial purposes.

You may not alter, transform, or build upon this work.

In the case of a language translation done by the editor, the publisher or the staff of Cuba Journal, you must give proper written credit to the writer of the original piece and also to the translator.

Cuba Journal Fair Use Policy

FAIR USE NOTICE: This site contains copyrighted material the use of which has not always been specifically authorized by the copyright owner. We are making such material available in our efforts to advance understanding of Cuba. We provide this information without any profit or income to Cuba Journal. We believe this constitutes a 'fair use' of any such copyrighted material as provided for in section 107 of the US Copyright Law. In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. Section 107, the material on this site is distributed without profit to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving the included information for research and educational purposes. For more information go to: http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/17/107.shtml. If you wish to use copyrighted material from this site for purposes of your own that go beyond 'fair use', you must obtain permission from the copyright owner.

Copy Left Rights Granted to Users. Include Link to Cuba Journal. Simple theme. Powered by Blogger.